Effective September 17, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”) rescinded a July 26, 2021 order, which required workers in high-risk settings, such as healthcare facilities, correctional facilities, and long term, adult, and senior care facilities, to verify their vaccination status or submit to testing for COVID-19 at least once per week.[1]
While the State no longer requires that local public agencies that operate high-risk facilities verify the vaccination status of their employees or that they be tested for COVID-19, such agencies should be mindful that Local Health Orders are unaffected by the change in state law and may still require verification and testing in certain settings. Public agencies that employ workers in settings covered by the July 26, 2021 order should review Local Health Orders that may continue to apply.
Additionally, public agencies that negotiated changes to their verification and testing policies and practices with employee organizations as a result of the July 26, 2021 order should determine how they wish to proceed now that the order has been rescinded.
It should also be noted that high-risk workplaces subject to the regulatory requirements set forth in the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases (“ATD”) standard[2] remain subject to the requirements set forth in that regulation as well. High-risk workplaces are encouraged to contact legal counsel for further guidance.
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore attorneys continue to monitor developments in COVID-19 law, and are available to assist employers, including those that operate high-risk workplaces, with workplace health and safety questions as well as any labor relations questions implicated by the rescission of the order.
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[1] High-Risk Workplaces include:
- Health Care Facilities
- Correctional Facilities
- Homeless Shelters
- Residential, Senior, and Long Term Care Facilities
- Emergency Shelters
- Cooling and Heating Centers
[2] 8 C.C.R. § 5199.
